Never Apart
by Higuchimon
Summary: Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter 1: 1,581|| **story:** 1,581  
 **Genre:** Drama, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I10: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon.  
 **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

"Hello, Your Highness!" Shou looked impeccable in Kuragari's royal guard uniform. He snapped a salute, eyes bright and happy, and Juudai found himself nodding back as he always had.

Something was not right here. Shou didn't wear that uniform, not black and silver trim, not with a sword hung by his side. Shou wore red… or yellow...sometimes blue. Sometimes he did wear black, but not like this.

But Juudai could not remember why. It was not right. It wasn't right at all and he couldn't put his finger on why and he _didn't like it at all._

For all that he wanted to ask what was going on, his lips would not form the words. Instead he made small talk with this guard who bore a friend's face, a face that would not be born for thousands of years to come, and the words he said and heard did not sink at all into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to hold onto them.

Then he was moving along, through corridors of a castle that should not exist anymore. He remembered in far too much detail how it fell, the screams and horrors of those caught within, the power of the Light unleashed, and nothing he could do to stop it…

 _Yubel! Yubel!_ The name cried in the darkest pits of his mind and he didn't know if it was his voice or not, or when he'd called if it was. But it didn't matter. He wasn't answered anyway.

Where was Yubel? Shouldn't they always be together now? He'd done something to ensure that, but he couldn't remember.

He couldn't remember a lot of things, he realized. He knew who he was. He knew bits and pieces of scattered thoughts, but nothing that could or would clump together into a coherent whole, a picture that would make sense and give him something to look at and understand.

As if his attempt to remember the castle falling triggered it, the walls around him collapsed, transforming in one moment from a place of beauty and life and memory, a world that he'd lived in and loved in and ached when his efforts failed and it died around him. What rose in its stead made no more sense than anything else had.

For it was Duel Academia. There was no struggle to remember that, it came as clear and strong as knowing the castle and its surroundings had. As he could've found his way there without effort, he could trace the paths here as well.

He stared at the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm; he'd visited it only once or twice, mostly in third year when he'd dropped in on Johan a few times. Mostly Johan had come to see him more than anything, though. Juudai wasn't comfortable there. He never had been and now he knew why: it reminded him of that place, the glorious castle of his first life.

But he stood here now and out of it came two people, nearly as alike as peas in a pod. One was Johan; he could never mistake him for anyone else. The other, also human, but with a jewel glittering in the center of the forehead, an ornament that no one else he remembered had ever borne, mirrored Johan's features.

They spoke in unison, their voices weaving and winding around one another, and Juudai knew he should've been able to tell them apart, but try as he might, two voices now were one.

"You need to wake up, Juudai. You need to wake up and get out of here."

He wasn't going to argue they were right; none of this made sense, so didn't he need to get back to where things _did_?

"I don't know how." It was the truth. And he didn't like it. He should've been able to do almost anything that he wanted, and waking up should've been the least of his problems. But he just didn't know how anymore.

Again they spoke. "Wake up, Juudai. You're in danger. They're going to take us apart."

Under normal circumstances, that would've woken him up, possibly with a scream stuffed behind his lips. But regardless of what he wanted, regardless of the cold hand of fear that gripped his spine and twisted his guts and tore through his heart, he couldn't do anything but stare at them. He couldn't even ask who 'they' were.

He tried to reach out to them. He wanted to touch, to feel skin against his own, warm skin that came from someone else, and they reached for him and he could feel _nothing_ , their hands brushing through his, and he took a shuddering step forward, only for everything around him to vanish.

The view did not fall into darkness. No, that would've been far too kind.

The light was there instead, mad laughter that tore into his ears and shredded against his skin, a wind of pain that ripped at parts of himself he'd never known could hurt until that was all they _did_ do and he wept tears of dark fire, crashing onto his knees from the agony of it all.

 **Silly little nothing. Did you think you could truly defeat us? We are eternal.**

All around him images danced: Saiou, Yubel, Johan, Manjoume, Asuka, Misawa, an endless parade of faces of those he cared about. Others hung in the background, little more than shadows, but he knew if he saw them, he would recognize them as well. Their names hung in the back of his mind, the names of people who had called him prince and king and master and looked to him for protection and leadership and he'd failed them, failed horribly, and there wasn't anything that he could do, he could not stop them, could not stop it, the Light was everywhere and it bound him and he screamed until his throat screamed back and he could do _nothing_.

 **Yes, little nothing. That's it. Despair. Even if you think you've won, we will always return. Life and death in a cycle, do you not remember?**

He didn't want to. He didn't want to think about this at all and he shook his head and he could feel his knees press into the nothing beneath him and he whispered words that were names and he didn't remember anymore if they were the names of the living or the dead.

"Haou-sama." Mocking tones wrapped around his title and Juudai lifted his head to stare into a pair of glowing scarlet eyes.

"G-Guardian Baou." Juudai knew full well that this wasn't possible. It couldn't be; he'd killed Baou himself, even when weak and still covering from a fever, still teetering on the edge of being able to use or not use Fusion. But here the other stood before him, and he was not alone.

Behind Guardian Baou stood the other Death Duelists, Chaos Sorcerer and Skull Bishop, Skilled White Mage and Skilled Black Magician. Where before he'd seen only obedience to his will and whims in their eyes, now he saw contempt and hatred.

"This is the Haou? The one who presumed to think he could rule an entire world?" Disbelief coated Chaos Sorcerer's words. "He's little more than a child. I would sooner trust a child to be able to rule than him."

Juudai tried to get to his feet, old memories of days long past scorching through his mind. He could feel armor settling around him, and his voice spoke, though without asking permission of his mind.

"I am Haou." Drained of all emotion, but without weariness, only a deadly determination, he raised one hand and gestured toward Chaos Sorcerer. Energy sprang forward, circling his former subordinate, and dragging him down to his knees. He said nothing more, but gazed at them all as he had on the day he'd first acknowledged who the master was.

And now fear filled their eyes as Chaos Sorcerer's hands pawed and clawed at his throat, straining for a single breath that Haou's attack did not allow him.

"I am Haou. I will always be Haou. I will _always_ be your master." The words came unbidden and no matter how much Juudai tried to pull back, to stop this, to do something, nothing at all happened save the band of energy tightening further around Chaos Sorcerer's throat. "None of you are irreplaceable."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tears of pain filled Chaos Sorcerer's eyes, and Juudai could not find the slightest shred of compassion in his heart no matter how hard he searched. "Haou-sama, please, forgive me!"

And yet it tightened still, far more so than he would've thought possible. It was as if no matter how much the magician struggled and suffered, he could not die.

He was not being allowed to die.

And it was Juudai – Haou – who kept him from that, who tortured him with a heart of stone and a will of iron. No matter how much he begged, no matter the fear and terror written across all their faces…

And not just theirs. He could see them all now. Everyone. Shou. O'Brien. Jim. Freed. Hane Kuriboh. Manjoume. Asuka. Kenzan. Fubuki-san. The Kaiser. Edo. Saiou. Rei. Principal Samejima. Tome-san. Mizuchi. Fujiwara. Yuugi-san. Whether they'd been there in Dark World or not, it didn't matter. They all stared at him with fear and hatred in their eyes and he could not stop himself.

And he did not want to.

And he began to scream.

 **To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter 2: 1,549|| **story:** 3,130  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon.  
 **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

Juudai's flesh passed through Yubel's fingers as if one of them were nothing more than a shadow. Perhaps less than that; Juudai held power over shadows as he did over anything of darkness. But what mattered now to Yubel was that despite being able to do so in the past, they were not touching.

Yubel's teeth did not look like a dragon's, despite what the old king had said, but they ground together with all the strength of one now. This wasn't happening. This could not happen at all. Juudai had fused them together by the great power of Super Fusion and _nothing_ could drive a wedge between them.

But for all of that, Yubel could not touch him, no matter the effort put into doing so.

Yubel looked around their small prison, seeking for something that would open a way outside. There was only one door, but a thin line of magic around it kept Yubel from opening it.

Someone would come. Someone would want to check on Juudai or feed him or something and when that happened… Yubel flexed talons as sharp as hatred and as cold as the heart of space.

When that happened, Yubel looked forward to showing whoever dared to do this to Juudai why they never should've even tried.

For all the effort put toward doing so, Yubel couldn't remember how they'd ended up here. The two of them, plus Pharaoh and with Daitokuji's spirit inside of the cat, had lounged at ease in one of the other worlds, taking time off from helping the humans to get a little rest in. Yubel assured Juudai that he could do so and it would do no harm.

After their fusion, with Juudai also in full possession of his powers as the Haou of the Gentle Darkness, there shouldn't have been anything capable of taking him down like this in the first place. He could be injured; he could die, and Yubel honestly didn't know if he could be _killed_ or not. Even if he were, he would just incarnate again somewhere else, and probably come back in twenty years or so very annoyed at whoever had killed him in the first place.

All the same, there was a gap of non-awareness – Yubel did not want to call it 'darkness' because _Juudai_ was darkness and these two things were very different. On one side of the gap, they'd enjoyed themselves in a pleasant world, Juudai with his fingers buried deep in the wild mane of Yubel's hair, Yubel enjoying the feel of him being there in the first place, the spirits of the deck politely looking the other way…

And then on _this_ side of the gap, the two of them were here in a room that even they couldn't escape from and Yubel had no idea of where Juudai's deck or cat and former teacher were.

Yubel didn't care much for any of those in all truth, but Juudai _did_ , so if harm had come to them, the vengeance unleashed would be as frightening as for what was being done to Juudai. Perhaps even more so. It was one thing to harm Juudai himself. It was another to make him angry.

 _Perhaps I'll leave that to him, though._ He would need to do something to these people, and for the crime of harming those he cared about…

Sometimes Yubel didn't like that Juudai cared about other people. But when it urged him to commit acts of mass destruction and pain to people who deserved it, then Yubel could tolerate it in small doses. It wasn't as if he didn't still care about her, after all.

What mattered most at the moment was getting them both into a position to cause that damage, and their captors into a position where they couldn't fight back. It would have to be done with the utmost of care, but Yubel was very good at planning that kind of thing.

The problem as Yubel saw it at the moment was this: they were being held by unknown beings who had somehow been able to knock Juudai unconscious without Yubel or anyone else in Juudai's deck being aware of it. Yubel would've suspected something in the food, if the last thing Juudai ate hadn't been plucked off a tree instead of bought somewhere.

The place they were being held was clearly made by mortal hands, be those mortals humans or spirits. Even in the dimensions that weren't of Earth, buildings did not spontaneously manifest themselves. The magical energy around the door had to have been cast by a sentient being of some type as well. That argued for spirits of some kind; most modern day humans knew little of magic.

 _What would spirits want with Juudai? It's been years since what happened in Dark World._ Though those who held grudges could easily do so for centuries. Yubel knew that very well.

If this were something to do with those events, then Yubel knew the blame could not be held by Juudai alone. They didn't speak of it, but Yubel supported Juudai in his actions now not just because of the deep and abiding love between them, but because Yubel knew that some things had to be made up for, and what happened in Dark World came under that heading.

Spirits of some kind were involved. It might or might not have anything to do with what happened all those years ago. Yubel couldn't think of anything else useful that could be solid facts instead of speculation.

No. One more item: the spell on the door didn't just prevent the door from being opened. Yubel couldn't access _any_ ability there. There were personal abilities and ones that came from cards, and neither of them were available now. Granted, neither of them had their decks at the moment, which made it more difficult to determine just how powerless they really were.

As much as Yubel hated it, the only path left open was the one that Yubel disliked the most: having to wait. There'd been enough waiting for Juudai to be reborn, to find him again, and to remember their past. More did not make Yubel happy at all.

Nor did having to watch as Juudai lay scarcely moving, murmuring words that made little sense, held in the grip of something that Yubel did not understand and did not like in the slightest.

The bond between their souls meant that Yubel could normally tell what Juudai was thinking, if he didn't actively try to keep it to himself. Yubel didn't mind when he did; everyone needed time to themselves, and if Yubel wanted to know, then Juudai frequently would tell. Yubel could also tell when he was asleep or awake and if he were having nightmares or not.

He _definitely_ was having nightmares now, but not ones such as he normally had. For months after their return to Duel Academia, not a night had passed where Juudai hadn't relived the events of Dark World, usually in a much more painful and bloodier context than what actually happened. Yubel had a few of those as well, and had spent a night or two held close in Juudai's arms.

But nothing that Yubel did now could bring the slightest bit of comfort. Yubel couldn't even be certain of what those nightmares held, of what hideous images floated behind his eyes.

Again Yubel tried to touch him, but to no avail. "What kind of madness is this?"

"This is the result of our magic," a voice spoke. Yubel looked around, all eyes narrowed, trying to find where it came from. There was no sign, however. "You need not be afraid, great Yubel."

" _You_ should be!" Yubel spat out the words. "What have you done to Juudai?"

When the other replied, Yubel thought that whoever it was, they sounded more than a little confused. "Majestic one, you will be free soon enough. The magic will sever you from this monstrous being before sunrise."

Of anything at all Yubel could or had imagined that would be heard when these mysterious captors of theirs contacted them at last, this hadn't been it. Yubel's claws scraped against the stone of their prison. One single word fell from furious lips.

"What?"

Yubel was certain of the confusion now. "This is why we brought you here. We are aware that your captor fused your souls together and we are going to free you of that."

Yubel didn't know how long it had been since being born in Kuragari. 'Eons' was the closest Juudai could figure. But in that entire span of time, not once had Yubel ever considered _not_ being a part of Juudai's life in some fashion. Being the beneficiary of Juudai's love to this extent, that they could be together for all future incarnations, had been a surprise. And to hear this? That someone wanted to _take that away_?

"How _dare_ you?" Yubel stood in a heartbeat, moving so that Juudai took no harm. "I _love_ Juudai!"

The tone now taken was one of soothing a child. "We know that you believe that. But once you're away from him, you'll know better. This won't take long at all and then you can be free forever. Just wait patiently, please."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,687|| **story:** 4,817  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon.  
 **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

Juudai didn't know where everyone else had gone. One moment they'd been there, screaming in pain because of him, begging his forgiveness, and the next he was the only one there. No Shou. No Yubel. No Johan. No Guardian Baou. No Chaos Sorcerer. None of them at all.

All he could see, no matter where he looked, was a vast expanse of nothing. It held no trace of Darkness that wasn't his, but it wasn't _right_ either. There wasn't any despair there. It wasn't the Darkness of Despair and it most certainly wasn't the Light of Ruin. It was _his_ Darkness.

It was an empty, lonely darkness that no light of any kind could penetrate.

Juudai kept walking. He wasn't sure if he knew how to stop. But if he just sat where he was, he'd never find anyone else, and he _wanted_ to find other people.

But the more other people he looked for, the less he found. If it were possible to somehow find less than nothing in the first place. Math hadn't ever been his best subject, unless it involved life points or attack and defense numbers. When it came to involving people, Juudai tended to find a way to do something else. Naps had always been his favorite other occupation.

Sleeping here didn't seem an option. If Juudai hadn't known better, he would have thought he was in some kind of punishment land. He didn't really believe in 'hell', though. And even if he had, he was pretty sure that he didn't qualify for it.

Maybe. He'd been doing a lot to make up for what he'd done in Dark World but he didn't know if he ever actually would. Saving the world and Yubel from what happened, and what almost happened, had been a step in the right direction, but there was always something new happening, or something that he remembered he needed to make up for.

But he kept on trying. What else was he going to do? What Brron started, keeping people in fear and killing anyone that he wanted to for whatever reason he could invent, he'd continued, insisting that it was all for everyone's good.

If he could go back in time and smack himself, Juudai knew he would do it and forget all about the consequences. He'd seen plenty of time travel movies. He knew all about how changing time was bad. He'd do it anyway.

The farther he walked, the more it seemed like he wasn't getting anywhere. He wasn't even leaving footprints behind. There wasn't any trace that he'd been here at all. Or that anyone had.

 _If I'm supposed to have the power that brought life to the universe, then why isn't there any life here?_ He'd never tried to _use_ his power like that. He'd only really used it during dueling, and that wasn't really the same thing.

Juudai stopped and looked around. There wasn't anything to look at that he hadn't seen before, but he looked. Emptiness, above and below, to the right and to the left.

He set his jaw. He didn't know where he was or why he couldn't feel Yubel in his soul at all. Or why none of his deck's spirits answered him. Why he couldn't find his cell phone or laptop and try to get in touch with anyone else. But he was not going to give up. You didn't give up in a duel as long as you had cards and some kind of strategy and while he didn't have his cards, he hadn't lost all of his strategy. Not yet, anyway.

Slowly Juudai clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He didn't know what he was doing. But he'd be damned if that was going to stop him now when it never had before.

He tried to go deep within himself, to that warm core of night and shadows that had always been there, even when he hadn't known what it was or why it was there. It was why he had disliked Duels of Darkness, because a part of him always said there was something wrong about how his opponents played them. Darkness wasn't evil. _He_ wasn't evil.

Well, not now. He'd done that once already.

Juudai focused every ounce of his strength on this quest to find the innermost part of himself. This was who he was; the part of him that had known everything he'd fought to know all of his life, that knew it was a good idea to fight evil and a bad one to be evil, but he'd made mistakes and it was okay because he'd learned from them and knew what not to do, and he'd found the love of two lifetimes and maybe more lifetimes, he should probably ask Yubel about that one day, how many times _had_ they been around together, or just him, where had Yubel been all that time…

With a gasp as if he'd surfaced from a deep lake, Juudai's eyes flew open and he stumbled forward, crashing onto his knees, taking in large breaths of air that held no taste to it.

He shuddered all over, curling onto himself.

 _Where did it go?_ Like everything else important to him, that helped shape who he was, it was gone. He hadn't even noticed until he started to look for it. How could it just leave like that? That power was as much his as … as his skin! His eyes! His hair! Everything that made him _him_ , and yet it was gone.

Juudai did not want to think about any of this. What he really wanted to do was find a way to get it all back, or for it to not be gone at all. He wanted to open his eyes and feel Yubel's arms around him, answer Johan's latest text, go see if any of his friends were doing anything that he might want to check out in person, find someone who needed help and give them that help.

He didn't want to be in this featureless place that wasn't even a place at all, alone as he'd never been in his entire life.

Juudai didn't know how long he stayed there, too drained to even think about moving. Only when a stray thought slid through his mind did he realize not everything was the way it should be, above and beyond not having anyone he cared about here and not having any of the power that he should have.

 _I'm not hungry. Not thirsty. Not tired._ He'd always needed to eat and sleep and drink. Even when he'd been in Neo-Space or any of the other worlds. That hadn't changed. He might not have had food or time to rest, but he'd needed to anyway.

But in this place he didn't. There had to mean something. What it was, he didn't know. He had no concept of it at all besides something being _wrong_.

And what Juudai did with his life was _fix_ things that were wrong, no matter what they were.

He pulled himself to his feet and steadied himself, resolving turning to diamond within the deepest pits of himself.

 _Something is wrong and that probably means someone else is making it wrong. I don't know who you are, but I'm going to find you and stop you._ With extreme violence if necessary.

* * *

"How is it coming along?" Ancient Sorcerer peered into the chamber where the other dark spellcaster spun his webs of dreams.

Dark Sleep Inviting Lucifer – most people called him Lucifer for short, if they dared to speak his name at all – did not look up from where he stared at his work.

"Very well. I expect no problems from him at all."

Ancient Sorcerer nodded. "The master will be pleased to hear that." All of them wanted to please their master and would do so by bringing him that most powerful of beings, the great Yubel.

His lip curled as he caught a glimpse of Yuuki Juudai, sound asleep, his so-called partner hovering over him worriedly. How dare this foul creature, this embodiment of all that was wrong in the universe, claim that he loved Yubel? Only their master had that right and honor.

But it would not be that much longer before their unholy bond was broken and their master could make his own court toward Yubel. As for Yuuki Juudai… Ancient Sorcerer had a few spells that he hadn't yet tried out on anyone. And if the brat survived that, then there were plenty of people in Dark World who would love to have his hide on their walls. He knew five personally.

Lucifer ran one clawed hand through the flames he watched his victim in. "It will not be long before the fusion is broken. I trust that the preparations have been made?"

"Of course!" As if they would be behind schedule for this! "Just don't let him wake up before it's over with."

Lucifer smiled. At least, Ancient Sorcerer thought that he did. In this place of deepest shadow, it was almost impossible to see his features. In truth, it would've been hard to see them even if they'd stood in bright sunlight. Shadows attended this creature no matter what.

"I may not let him wake up at all. His dreams are delicious." He turned away from Ancient Sorcerer, raising one hand to let the shadows crawl all over it.

The magician nodded, more to satisfy himself than anything else, and stepped away, letting the blanket that covered the entryway fall back. Everything was working just as they'd all planned it. They had only to wait.

He tilted his head for a moment, looking around. _Did I see something?_

No. He couldn't have. There was nothing there to see.

Certain of that, he went to make his report to his master.

Once he'd left, a large tubby orange cat sniffed at where his feet had rested. Standing above him, faint but visible to those who had the eyes to see, Daitokuji stared at the blanket thoughtfully, and made plans of his own.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,599|| **story:** 6,416  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon. **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

Daitokuji made certain to keep from where any of these spirits could see him. That was harder than it sounded; after the last few years spending most of his time either on Earth or on Earth inside of Pharaoh's stomach, he wasn't used to people seeing him except under two circumstances: he really, really tried and made an effort so they would, or they could see spirits to start with. Apparently being able to see _Duel_ spirits also meant one could see _ghost spirits_. Or so he'd learned where Johan-kun had casually begun to speak to him one day a few years earlier.

Of course, Johan-kun was _different_ from most people. Daitokuji wasn't certain if it was the same kind of _different_ that Juudai-kun was, but the Gem Beast duelist wasn't at all like other people.

Perhaps that was the kind of person that they needed in this world, really. Or at least in this situation. Someone who could talk some sense into these spirits and see to it that they understood what they were doing was not only wrong, but could potentially be fatal to them if they didn't stop right now.

The problem there was that he didn't know how to find Johan-kun, or anyone else that he knew aside from Juudai-kun and Yubel-sama. He didn't even know how to get out of their labyrinth of rooms and corridors or even if he could see all of it. Magic infested every corner of the place here and he didn't know if they knew he was around or not.

 _At least their wards aren't keeping me out of places._ Those wards were set to keep out _Duel_ spirits and that wasn't what he was.

He'd never really been the type to put his hand into matters personally. He'd only fought for Kagemaru because he'd had to. After that, he'd gladly taken his rest, or as much of one as he could get inside of Pharaoh's stomach. Perhaps one day he would move on to the next life and see what it had to offer him. But today he kept himself occupied looking around for anything that he could do that would help Juudai-kun and Yubel-sama.

He kept to the hallways as much as he could, mostly because every room here had wards of some kind around the openings, and he didn't trust what might happen if he stepped beyond them. He'd be of no help at all if he entered one and couldn't leave it, and he wasn't enough of a scholar of Duel Spirit magic to know what the wardsigns outside of each room meant.

The wardsigns were like human warning signs, telling a potential person who wished to enter a room what wards were set there. Daitokuji didn't trust them all to tell the truth, either. What would be the point of warning a thief or an intruder of what they might encounter, especially if said thief or intruder could use that information to dismantle the wards? He'd seen that before, during his travels with Juudai-kun.

Which meant he also had to watch out for those who were wandering the corridors. Or perhaps guarding them might be a more accurate term. He did not want to have to answer questions about why he was there or how he'd gotten there.

Truth to tell he wasn't even certain of the answer to 'how' he'd gotten there in the first place. It involved Pharaoh, that was for certain, but the cat couldn't or wouldn't tell him how he'd managed to get inside this place that was so cleverly guarded against intruders.

Perhaps it was just one of those things that cats did and their mere mortal companions – or ghostly companions in his case – would have to accept that it happened.

He moved along, watching and listening, and fading into the darkness whenever he could or needed to. Pharaoh seemed to know when and how to hide as well as he did, since none of the guards noticed the cat. Or if they had noticed, they clearly saw nothing wrong with a possible stray lurking their stronghold. Daitokuji couldn't read their minds and all he had to go on was their faces, none of which seemed to see the cat.

* * *

Whoever kept them there seemed to know that it would be better to keep away from Yubel for the moment. That caused more annoyance than it didn't, since Yubel knew full well if these fools appeared in the room, it would be to a greeting of fireballs and not pleasant words.

The fireballs were about as pleasant as Yubel felt at the moment. If a deck had been available, either the one used against Juudai that last time or Juudai's, then the monsters within would've been useful allies.

Yubel kept watch over Juudai, whose sleep hadn't changed at all since the last time that fool spoke. Yubel had no way to tell how much time had passed, but had a simple way to describe it nevertheless: too much.

"Wake up," Yubel murmured, one hand pressed against his throat, searching for any sign of his mind and finding nothing. While Yubel did consider Juudai something of a fluffhead, there had always been a sign of his awareness somewhere. To not find it now was not a good omen at all.

Yubel closed taloned fingers around Juudai's wrist, wincing when they went through him. Whatever magic this was, it was strong, to not only have a chance of undoing Super Fusion, but to make the two of them mostly intangible to one another.

Oh, there would be fireballs. And so much, much more. Yubel swore that on everything that meant anything at all.

But without a way to get Juudai out of here to safety, then proper vengeance would have to wait.

Yubel didn't like waiting. But Yubel was also very good at it. And planning one's revenge occupied the passing time so very well.

* * *

"Was that a glitch in the spell? I thought I saw something moving out there."

"Of course not. We're hidden from everyone here except our own people. If you saw anyone at all, they're part of us anyway."

"… Are you sure? Because I don't think we have one of _those_ on our membership list. And especially not _him_."

"Sound the alarm."

* * *

Daitokuji pressed himself into the shadow cast by a tapestry hung on the wall, Pharaoh hiding behind the same one, hissing low and harsh. Something was not right. The sounding of an alarm and the race of feet through the corridors made that even more obvious.

 _Now, what can this be?_ The former professor decided it was worth checking into. Perhaps it could provide some kind of useful information, though he wasn't certain of what. The only way to know was to investigate and see what he could find out.

He still remained careful, watching at every junction to make certain that whoever was running pell-mell through this place didn't spy him or Pharaoh. There wasn't much to worry about; the guards that he saw were far too focused on going wherever they were going to worry about strays and ghosts.

"How did they get in here?" He heard someone calling out as he approached a room where more people seemed to be going in than coming out. "The wards should've kept them from even _seeing_ us from the outside! What _happened_?"

Another voice replied. "I don't know, sir, but they've almost arrived. Who should we send against them?"

"Against them?" The first voice sounded aghast. "Do you mean, who do we want to _die_? You know who they are, don't you?"

 _No, actually I don't, but I think I would like to,_ Daitokuji mused. _Do tell me who they are._

"If we're not going to fight them, then how can we stop them?"

"They're terrifying duelists, but I don't think they should know much about magic. Send out the spellcasters."

Daitokuji remained as much out of sight as he could, sliding past the doorway. He peeked inside curiously and wasn't surprised to see half a dozen demons and warriors staring at various crystals. They were placed in the wrong position for him to see what was going on in them himself, and there were too many people in the way even if they'd been in the right position.

Deciding that seeing what the spellcasters were up to would serve him better to find out who they were fighting, he moved along to where he could see various mages gathering. Outside he could hear voices calling, but none of them were ones that he recognized right away.

"Where are they?" A voice he _knew_ he didn't recognize, but which carried unmistakeable anger in it rang out with the question. "Where are Juudai-kun and Yubel?"

"Our master -" This voice was interrupted by another.

"You don't tell the enemy more than they need to know, and they don't need to know anything. We _fight_!"

"Tell us what we want to know and you might not die."

Now that voice was one that Daitokuji _did_ recognize and he wondered how in all the worlds that _he_ had ended up here. He had so many questions already and he hardly knew who the rescue party was.

Then he peered out of what he realized belatedly was the front gate of this whole stronghold and saw who stood there: a line of seven, and not one of them looked anything less than _absolutely furious_.

"Oh, hello," Daitokuji said with a friendly smile. "So nice to see you here."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,668|| **story:** 8,084  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon.  
 **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

Someone _dared_. Someone _dared_ to invade his stronghold, terrify his minions, and they were already on their way to the dungeon areas. There could be only one purpose for that goal, and he would not have this. He _would not have this at all_!

If he had to take them out himself, then he would do so. He had chosen his beloved and it would not be much longer before the awful power of Super Fusion dissolved and that foul creature _Haou_ could be disposed of safely, leaving the wonderful Yubel for him to court.

Of course, Yubel would be somewhat irked, until he explained matters. Once Yubel knew how much he'd done and that he'd done it all for the sake of the love that he knew they would soon share, then they could proceed to proper courting. He wondered if the dragon-demon would be pleased by the heads of those who came here to supposedly 'rescue' them. He might even keep them alive long enough to find out.

He had never, ever understood why Yubel could possibly believe that someone like _Haou_ would be worthy of their love. Yes, Haou was powerful. There were few, if any, more powerful. But Haou's power remained confined into a mortal shell, one that aged and died and had to be reborn.

He wasn't like that. He was like Yubel, endless and unchanging, and they would be together for all time.

Perhaps he would even fuse them together, if Yubel desired that closeness. It would not be difficult to take Super Fusion out of the fool's deck and use it. For that matter, it would be a far better use of such terrible weapon to have it enfold two people in true love instead of whatever mockery of such Haou forced upon Yubel.

Never, ever would he forgive the quasi-mortal for that offense. Yubel deserved something far, far above what they had now. Yubel deserved every world set before them, crafted into jewels for a crown fit only for Yubel to wear.

He would see to it that Yubel had all of that and more. He had fought too long and done too much not too do this. Finding a way to unbind the power of Super Fusion hadn't been easy at all. He'd had to find sorcerers, magicians, and spellweavers of every kind and speak to them of what Super Fusion was and could do and how it had been made. He thought he knew more about it than even the one who crafted it had.

What had given him the edge, however, was finding someone who had been assistant to the Haou's Kozaky, back during his twisted reign over Dark World. From them, he'd gained nearly as much information as he'd gathered from all of the other sources combined. And from all of that, he had his answer.

He glanced into one of his viewing screens, reassuring himself that the severance remained on track. Soon, very soon now, everything that he'd ached for would be his, and Haou would be nothing more but a foul memory soon discarded.

But to ensure nothing interrupted the procedure, he would have to dispose of these intruders. It shouldn't be too hard. They were, after all, humans.

* * *

Daitokuji didn't think he'd ever been more happy to see a small collection of some of his best and favorite students. What made it even better was that in this world, they actually could see him! Only Johan-kun or perhaps Fujiwara-kun could've done that on Earth. But now everyone from Kaiser-kun to Shou-kun looked right at him.

"Professor," Fujiwara-kun nodded, as if he saw spirits and ghosts every day of his life.

Well, in all honesty, he probably _did_. Not only had his natural spirit sight been enhanced by his time spent in the realm of darkness, but now he worked for Pegasus, researching spirits and the games of darkness much as Daitokuji himself once had.

"We heard about what happened to Juudai and Yubel," Misawa-kun said. "If you're here, then I suppose they must be too?"

Pharaoh gave a welcoming meow, scurrying over to rub against Shou-kun's leg and begging for treats as he always did. Daitokuji chuckled at that.

"Yes, they're in here. I can show you where, but there are plenty of guards around. You should be very careful."

Hell Kaiser and Taniya exchanged a glance that Daitokuji could only interpret as the comradeship between warriors. He'd seen many such looks between Juudai-kun and scary Yubel-sama. Seeing it on these two didn't make him any more comfortable.

"I think they're the ones who should be careful," Taniya said, a savage smile lighting up her features. "We're not the only ones who came."

Before Daitokuji could ask who else was there, a ferocious roar split the air. A heartbeat later, a dark-robed mage scrambled out from a stand of trees, paying no attention whatsoever to either the ghost or the group of avengers come to save their friend. All that mattered to this mage was getting out of there as fast as possible.

But the dinosaur that chased the spellcaster was faster, no matter how much speed the mage put on. Daitokuji blinked and stared at the lizard before both it and the mage sped out of sight. Then he looked over at the gathered group.

"That looked like Kenzan-kun." At least so much as he could tell; he'd never had a formal introduction to the young man, but the resemblance wasn't difficult to see at all.

Taniya let out a long sigh. "Because that is him. That mage cast a spell on him when we were a little way down the road. Something about 'become your true self.'"

Shou snickered. There wasn't any other way to describe it. "No one had a chance to tell him about Kenzan-kun and his dinosaur bone."

"He probably wouldn't have listened even if someone had tried," Fubuki suggested. He looked around the area calmly. "Well, Kenzan-kun is having fun right now. Why don't we go find Juudai so we can all go do something more interesting after that?"

"He's right." Hell Kaiser nodded. Daitokuji thought he was looking at something else on the treeline, but try as he might, he couldn't figure out what it might be. "Show us the way, Professor."

With Hell Kaiser and Taniya in the lead, the group started forward. Scarcely had they taken half a dozen steps before the sound of great wings cracked through the air, and a warrior's battle cry echoed from every rock and building around.

He landed between the rescue group and the main building, scarlet-feathered wings spread wide in defiance, blue and gold armor gleaming brilliantly in the sun. He pointed one hand at the new arrivals.

"Intruders! How dare you attempt to break into my home and take away my future mate!"

All of them stopped and stared at one another, confusion written in various ways over all of them. Daitokuji's eyes widened and he inched backward. He'd never signed up to deal with monsters this powerful and if this was who he thought it was, then just at the _least_ he was a level ten monster, with an impressive attack and the ability to weaken and defeat almost any monster that they could call up against it.

"And you would be?" Hell Kaiser cocked one eyebrow curiously, confusing fading away into annoyance.

"I rule this territory here. You may call me 'Your Majesty' or whatever title of respect you would give to a king in your world." The warrior – or technically angel if one chose to address him by his card type – turned his attention across each one of them. "What is it that you're doing here?"

Fubuki answered carelessly, his best grin flickering across his features. "Oh, we just thought we'd break in here and get back our friend, the one you kidnapped, and the spirit that lives in his soul, which you also kidnapped."

Daitokuji managed to catch a twitch of Hell Kaiser's arm. It wasn't much of one, but he'd seen the movement enough times when they were young students to know. Once again, Fubuki exercised his amazing ability to be the only person in any world that could make Marufuji Ryou wish to hide his face from whatever it was that came out of Fubuki's mouth.

The new arrival, however, looked almost as surprised as some of the others did at that. "I've taken no one's friend. I hold one of the most worthless beings in creation: the Haou. I seek to free the enslaved spirit that he forced to bond to him."

Nothing but silence reigned for a few surprised seconds. Then the angel spirit that accompanied Fujiwara Yuusuke stepped forward. Honest, Daitokuji believed his name was.

"I'm afraid you're quite mistaken. Juudai-san is very much _not_ worthless, and while I know of Yubel's past, they have come a long way from what they once were."

Shou stepped forward as well, shaking his head. "And aniki didn't force Yubel into anything. I don't think he would even if he wanted to."

"He's right." Now it was Johan's turn. His arms folded over his chest, he regarded the local lord thoughtfully. "I've had Yubel inside of me. I know exactly how much Yubel loves Juudai, and Juudai is my best friend. I know how much _he_ loves Yubel. If you hurt either one of them, then nothing at all is going to stop the other one from _ending_ you."

"That's assuming that we leave anything for them to end in the first place," a new voice said, and Edo Phoenix casually jumped down from a tree. "Which I wouldn't be all that certain of."

 _He truly is the greatest alchemist,_ Daitokuji mused, proud of his student, who had changed and touched so many lives that now when he needed them, they came to his aid without his even being able to ask. But he did wonder – how had they known?

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.

 **Note 2:** Next chapter I'll actually give the big guy's name. But if you want to try to guess, just look up level ten monsters that have gold and blue armor and red wings.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,636|| **story:** 9,720  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon.  
 **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

Juudai still slipped away from Yubel, no matter what. The amount and style of revenge Yubel had in mind grew with every second. All that would be necessary for it would be finding the one who dared this. There couldn't be that many. They were clearly in one of the monster worlds, and there weren't many humans who had access to that. All of those were ones that Juudai knew and knew well. They'd not dare to separate them.

Which left spirits, of which there were _many_. Though Yubel hadn't encountered many who could even begin to approach the power necessary to undo the work of Super Fusion. Even so, those who could would also need a reason to do it, and from what Yubel had heard so far, there were even fewer of those.

Identifying who it was would mean knowing what kind of other abilities they had. That was the only reason Yubel spared even a moment of thought for the identity of the fool. Otherwise, they would've been identities as merely 'meat that hasn't stopped moving yet'.

Not that Yubel didn't think about them that way anyway. And that designation wouldn't last long.

Juudai twitched. Yubel tensed; their connection had been weak and thready for far too long, and Juudai hadn't moved at all.

 _If we had his deck..._ Not just his deck, but Super Fusion itself. That alone could heal this. Yubel flexed sharp claws and eyed the door thoughtfully. Too sealed, too strong, and too much _in the way_.

Something touched upon the edges of Yubel's awareness. A presence: many presences, ones that were familiar to Juudai, and which Yubel recognized only by association with him… and with them in the past, now, it dawned. There were not many who could claim that distinction, but Yubel knew who those were.

 _They came for him._ As well they should, but the thought of others who cared for Juudai with that much strength was not one that Yubel had had time to get used to. Even after all the years of watching them be friends with Juudai, some things were not easily processed.

But even if they were here, that didn't get _them_ out of here. It didn't get _Juudai_ out of here. Yubel could not even guess if they could find this cell.

Noises next intruded, of voices that Yubel didn't know and did not care to know. One shook with raw power and if Yubel had been anything but pledged to Juudai, it might well have been far more impressive.

But with no more warning than that, the door slammed open, the wards set against it shuddering into non-existence, and there stood in the doorway a tall, graceful being in blue and gold armor, with scarlet-red wings spread wide. He gazed at Yubel with longing.

"My beloved!"

Yubel threw a fireball at his face without a moment of hesitation. "How _dare_ you!" There was so much else that Yubel wished to say, but that would do for a beginning. Yubel rose up to clawed feet, gently setting Juudai down, and took a step forward.

Now Yubel recognized who this was: Fallen Angel Desire. Not a common monster at all, but a high-ranking one, and considered by some to be beautiful. Yubel didn't care a whit. Another fireball blazed toward him.

"Yubel! Let me speak, beloved!"

That one got him two fireballs.

"I am not your beloved. You are my enemy and I am the one who will _end you_!"

Yubel could see the shifting of his feet and did not let him make the move he wanted. Standing in between Juudai and danger was Yubel's purpose, after all.

"Touch him and what I already have planned to do to you won't even be the _beginning_."

Fallen Angel Desire gave Yubel a pained look. "My love, I want you to explain to these intruders that I have done this only for your own good. Haou is nothing but a vile being that deserves neither mercy nor justice and you deserve so much better than that."

The only reason Yubel let him keep on talking was because Yubel couldn't actually believe those words were coming out of his mouth. Another fireball spoke Yubel's thoughts on that matter.

"Perhaps no one has explained this to you. But I love Juudai. I have always loved Juudai and I always will. And more to the point, _Juudai loves me_." Yubel could never, would never doubt that. From the first moment Super Fusion began to make them one, Yubel had known Juudai's love in its fullest measure. Nothing could change Yubel's mind on that.

Desire raised his hands and shook his head as Yubel stepped forward. "He took away your ability to choose! He forced you to fuse against your will!"

"Never. Never would Juudai do that to me. He swore an oath to me before your first ancestor was little more than a gleam in their parents' eyes." Yubel hissed out each word, flexing hands around another set of fireballs. This was just intended to soften him up before Yubel unleashed the _real_ damage. "He loves me, and I love him, and I will say that for a thousand years if that is how long it takes to sink into you. Nothing that you, or anyone else, could ever do would change that. And now you've hurt him. Even if I wished to be your _friend_ I wouldn't, for that alone. _No one_ hurts Juudai and lives to speak of it." The fireballs flew, slamming into Desire's chest, knocking him back. "Is that clear or do I need to destroy a few worlds for you to understand? Because to save Juudai, _I will_."

There was not a shred of a lie in those words. Yubel didn't normally want to destroy anything except those who hurt Juudai, not anymore. Mostly because Yubel didn't care about anyone who wasn't Juudai, really. But for this, to prove the point to this idiot, Yubel would do so a thousand times over.

There was a polite cough from a short distance away. Yubel knew that voice. Of course _he_ would be there. Yubel couldn't be annoyed about it, though. It was only right that people care about Juudai. Even if that person was Johan Andersen. And so many others.

All of them looked more than a little amused by the way Desire cowered away from the fireballs that she kept flinging. That was the least of Yubel's power, in all honesty.

"I believe you said something to the effect of 'Yubel will agree with me and love me and I will prove it to you all'," Misawa Daichi said, head tilted to the side. "I admit I am not very familiar with Yubel, but I don't think this constitutes proof of Yubel being in love with you."

One side of Johan's mouth quirked up. "I told you. Yubel loves Juudai."

As sweet and true as those words were from anyone, hearing it from him made it even better for Yubel. But for the moment, there were other matters to take care of.

"Where are our cards?" Juudai still breathed but he hadn't moved, and Yubel suspected only the power of Super Fusion could put matters back the way they were meant to be.

Desire raised up his head, pride in every armored inch of himself. "If you want those cards to continue to exist, you'll cease defending this piece of trash at once!"

"If you want to make it out of here in one piece, then you will give them back their decks, unharmed," Hell Kaiser said. His words carried far more weight than they might have, with his ace monster staring down Desire. Yubel hadn't yet had a chance to be properly introduced to his new deck, but this one looked more than ready to devour Desire at a moment's notice, not to mention being quite capable of doing so.

Were those three heads drooling? Yubel thought they might be.

Desire began to raise one hand as if to unleash an attack. In less time than it could take to tell, all of them had their monsters staring him down.

"We've been to worlds like this before," Edo Phoenix said, not taking his eyes off of Desire. "We've been ready for anything that you might try against us."

Desire's eyes could not be seen behind his helmet, but his fists clenched and he raised his head up high with pride and anger.

"Then I think we'll test that out. Because you'll never get those decks from me, and I _will_ have Yubel, and if I cannot, then I will still kill Haou, because I _want to_."

A soft, firm voice spoke. "I think you were more sympathetic before you decided to kill the person who protects all worlds from dangers." A tall young man with a long waterfall of blue-black hair stepped forward. No monster accompanied him, but the piercing light of his violet eyes spoke of enough power that no one feared for his safety. "Return their decks. Release them."

Hell Kaiser stepped up next to the stranger. "If you think that Haou needs to die all that much, then you're not capable of doing it at all." He bared his teeth and despite the problems that Yubel – through Juudai – knew that he'd had, there was not a sign of weakness in him at all. "Only one person has ever truly been able to kill Haou."

Desire stared intently at Marufuji Ryou, then took a step back. "You're the Hell Kaiser. I've heard about you. I heard that you -"

For the first time, Yubel saw Desire truly terrified. And all that made it less than perfect was that it wasn't Yubel or Juudai who did that to him **.**

 **To Be Continued  
**  
 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.

 **Note:** Ryou's new ace monster isn't meant to be anything actually in existence, since I can never pin down what he'd use after passing the Cyber/Cyberdark deck to Shou. But I think he'd stick with something three-headed for his ace. Kind of like a trademark. Also, the reason Desire is terrified of Ryou in the context of "someone who killed Haou" will be put into more detail next chapter.

Juudai's really made a lot of friends, hasn't he? Kagemaru would be there too, only he's a bit old for dimensional traveling. As for Samejima and Chronos, they're busy running DA still, so they won't be here either. There may be others who turn up. The rescue party turned out to be more impressive than I originally thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,708|| **story:** 11,428  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon.  
 **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

Hell Kaiser's lips thinned into a smile, the kind of smile that tended to make a lot of his opponents question their life choices.

"Heard about what I did the last time I was here for any length of time? Oh, yes, I know." His eyes flicked over to where O'Brien stood, muscular arms folded over equally muscular chest.

"Yes, I've heard it too," the fire duelist agreed, as absolutely deadpan as he always was. "You killed the Haou, didn't you?"

"I was the one who threw his helmet down and told all of his army that he was dead," Ryou agreed. His gaze rested once more on Desire. "But I do think that it would be best for Juudai and Yubel to deal with this idiot on their own. They've earned that."

Shou's gaze flickered back and forth between Ryou and Juudai. "But how can we wake him up?" Juudai had barely moved save for the occasional twitch since they'd all arrived there.

Yubel remained between Juudai and the rest of the room. That was a question Yubel dearly wished the answer to as well.

"Oh, I think I can help with that," Daitokuji said brightly. "There's a spellcaster a few doors down the hallway. He's the one keeping him asleep. Perhaps some of you could go deal with him?"

Nearly as soon as he spoke the words, Ryou, Edo, O'Brien, and Jim Cook peeled away from the group and started down the hall. Desire began to reach for them, only to be interrupted by yet another of Yubel's fireballs.

"Don't even think about it." Yubel did not care for them as people, but they were going to kill the person who kept Juudai asleep. That gave them a certain amount of protection.

Desire reached out a hand toward Yubel once more. "I don't understand why you won't listen to me!"

Yubel closed fingers around a fireball, considering upgrading to something more dangerous and pain-causing. "Hasn't it been said enough? I _love Juudai_. I will never love anyone who isn't Juudai, and _you are not Juudai_. What more do I need to say? What more do you need to hear?"

Desire's shoulders rose, stiff and furious, and his attention focused all on Juudai. "If that's the case, then -" Energy began to gather between his fingers.

"Are you actually going to try to kill him?" Misawa asked, head tilted to the side. "Because Yubel already wants to kill you just for what you've done now and if you harm him anymore, I don't think anyone could interfere in what would happen next."

"Assuming that any of us would want to," Johan added, staring at Desire as if he were an especially unpleasant species of insect. Yubel approved of that look. "Juudai's our friend. We kind of don't like too many people who tried to hurt him."

Saiou's cheeks flushed the tiniest bit, and Yubel could not help but glance back at Juudai as well. Johan did not miss either reaction.

"At least not the ones who don't regret it and try to make up for it," he added, a tiny smile on his lips. "Are you going to regret what you've done?"

None of that energy Desire gathered dissipated. Instead, it formed a gleaming sphere of light that he held between both of his hands. "I've done nothing that I _should_ regret!" He held it up over his head and threw it at Juudai.

Yubel laughed, easily stepping between the attack and its target. All three eyes glowed brilliantly and Yubel spoke two words.

" _Nightmare Pain_." Long thorned vines rose up in between Desire and Yubel and the energy blasted backward, knocking Desire into the wall.

"If you cared so much, you would've at least attempted to learn what I can do. No one will harm Juudai. I will not allow it. Not by you and not by anyone. Ever."

* * *

Lucifer considered his options. He could hear the arguments taking place down the hallway, and sooner or later, these invaders would come for him. He didn't think for a moment that Desire or anyone else would do anything to protect him. He certainly wouldn't have if their positions were reversed.

What he needed to do was find a way to get out and survive.

 _They'll want him woken up._ He could offer to do it in exchange for his life and safety. They were _heroic_ types. Surely they'd listen to something like that.

He began to turn toward the door, ready to approach them and make his offer. He froze where he stood when he saw four people standing in the doorway, and none of them looked very intent on making deals.

"You're the one keeping Yuuki Juudai asleep?" The most muscular of the quartet asked. Lucifer gave a quick nod. All of his grand schemes for making deals crumbled under the looks each of them bent in his direction.

"Then wake him up." The one carrying some kind of scaled monster on his back said. He _sounded_ polite and affable, but the moment he finished speaking, his pet opened a mouth full of sharp teeth and roared at him. The human nodded. "Karen says do it fast, too."

Lucifer stepped back, pulling himself together. "What do I get if I do?" They didn't look as if they wanted to make deals, but he would gladly leave them all behind to figure out what he had done and how to unravel it on their own. That wasn't a deal. That was safety and good thinking.

"You don't get Hell Kaiser here challenging you to a duel." The shortest one, dressed all in white, said, jerking his thumb to the one who hadn't yet spoken.

Lucifer froze even faster than he had before, staring at the tall warrior. Black leather from head to foot, a gaze that spoke of imminent death for those who fell to him… he swallowed.

"Hell Kaiser?" He'd had nightmares about that. If he'd known there was even a chance that the famed warrior would come here, he wouldn't have listened to a word Desire said. There were _stories_ about Hell Kaiser and the things he'd done on his first trip. No one actually wanted to find out if they were true, much less if he were in the mood to repeat them if – now when – he returned.

The human smiled. "Wake him up." There wasn't any room for compromise in his voice.

Lucifer knew terror. He'd unleashed it on countless others in his life and had never regretted it. He didn't regret that he'd done it to Yuuki Juudai now, and he never would.

What he regretted now was that he hadn't been able to find a way to get out of here before Hell Kaiser looked at him with the eyes of a killer. And even if somehow he managed to escape this man's wrath, then there were _at least_ three others who looked very much as if they would finish what he'd started if the chance offered itself.

Lucifer knew defeat when he saw it staring him in the face. It seldom had done so, but he knew it anyway. He turned toward his spellweavings and began to undo them.

Behind him, Edo turned to Ryou. "That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. You might be useful for something after all."

Ryou only rolled his eyes, a hint of amusement hovering over his lips. "When we find some use for you, let me know."

None of them took their full attention away from Lucifer. But at least part of it remained directed down the hallway, waiting for the signs of Yuuki Juudai's awakening.

* * *

Juudai still couldn't figure out where he was or what was going on any more than he already had. He _tried_ , but nothing he did accomplished anything. The most that he'd been able to work out was a sense of something being held against him, some kind of binding that kept him where he was. It felt kind of like sticky spiderwebs wrapped around him, no matter where he went. If he were actually going anywhere. He had his doubts on if he was.

His resolve to find out who was doing his to him hadn't changed. But when time marched on and on and on and he couldn't find so much as a stray hair and he couldn't even feel his own fingers touching his skin, his anger and his confusion grew in equal measures.

 _If they've hurt Yubel..._ He didn't like the thought of Yubel being hurt. But if they could do this to him, then what could they do to Yubel? What _would_ they do with Yubel?

He didn't know enough about what was going on to really be able to guess and he stopped even trying eventually. He'd find out once he found his way out of there.

He almost didn't notice when the first strand, if that were the right way to describe it, fell away from him. He blinked down at it, unsure of what was going on. Then another one fell. And another, and another.

With each one sliding away from him, he could feel a strange tingle beginning to race through his body. He hadn't realized how numb he felt until he wasn't anymore. He flexed his fingers and could feel the deep darkness that coiled in his center beginning to burn once more there.

Juudai smiled. Oh, this was going to be good. He didn't know why it was happening, but he decided to attribute it to Yubel. Once they were reunited, they would have so much fun educating whoever did this on why they shouldn't have.

Darkness began to close in around him and Juudai welcomed it with all of his heart. Darkness within, darkness without, this was what he was. He wore a mortal skin because that was the best way to accomplish the work that he needed to do, but in his core, Juudai knew that he wasn't human at all.

He was fine with that. But clearly someone out there needed an education in why one did not unfairly attack the Herald of the Gentle Darkness.

* * *

Yuuki Juudai opened his eyes.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandoms:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Never Apart  
 **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,616|| **story:** 13,044  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Romance|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen  
 **Notes:** This takes place some years post-canon. **Summary:** Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

* * *

All of Yubel's eyes widened with deep joy the moment that Juudai opened his own. He looked around, hints of gold mixing in with his deep brown, then began to sit up.

"Yubel?" His eyes fell on Desire and a sudden rage lit his expression. "It was _you_ wasn't it? You're the one who did this."

Desire took a step back, eyes going from Yubel to Juudai and back again. "He's awake. What more do you want?"

"The decks," Yubel replied at once, helping Juudai to his feet, arms still comfortably around his shoulders. "And there'd better not be anything missing."

Juudai's legs shook a trifle and Yubel held on a little tighter. The bond between them created by Super Fusion had been stressed almost to the breaking point, but not completely broken. It would heal with time, or with another application of Super Fusion.

Desire snapped out an order; Yubel didn't object, because there wasn't any way that he would get out of their sight before getting their decks back. Yubel didn't trust him.

Juudai's eyes moved over to the others standing in waiting. He smiled a little. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

"We came for you," Shou said, moving forward, worried. "How are you feeling, aniki?"

Juudai rubbed the back of his head, taking care not to knock himself over. "I've been better. How'd you know what was going on?"

Yubel had wondered about that as well. But now Hane Kuriboh burst into the room, happily trilling as he snuggled against Juudai.

"That's how," Johan said, Ruby Carbuncle appearing on his shoulder and trilling to Hane Kuriboh. "He came and found me and told me what happened, and I started calling people." He shrugged. "The more people we called, the more of them wanted to come help. So we got Misawa and Fujiwara to work together and here we are."

Juudai nodded, looking at the two named. Misawa nodded firmly, quite satisfied with his work, while Fujiwara ducked his head a trifle. Fubuki patted his friend on the shoulder.

"You did good," he said. The conversation fell to the side as the servant Desire called for brought in two decks. Johan stepped over to take them after a quick look at both Juudai and Yubel. Yubel wasn't in any good to leave off embracing Juudai and Juudai didn't yet feel up to moving forward to take the decks himself. If anyone could be trusted with them until further notice, it was Johan.

But now Yubel scooped up Juudai, holding him close. "Are they all there?"

Johan fanned out each deck in turn, giving them a quick once-over. Then he nodded. "Nothing's gone."

"Good." Yubel turned full attention back to Desire. "Now, it's your turn."

From the way Desire moved back, he did not want it to be his turn. That was fine with Yubel. This wasn't going to be a fun game. This wasn't going to be a game at all.

Juudai leaned forward, eyes flickering faintly between deep brown, gold, and Yubel's own two-toned eyes. "I think the rest of you should step outside for this." His tone didn't offer a single bit of compromise, nor did anyone seem in the mood to argue. Though in all honesty, Yubel couldn't blame them. There weren't many people who could enjoy the sight of darkness incarnate unleashing his power to any extent.

It didn't take long for the group, even as large as it was, to clear out of other. Juudai drew in a deep, steadying breath, and Yubel could feel his powers working, holding him upright as he moved back to his own feet. This would be better that way, they both knew.

Desire made a leap for the door. The door slammed shut before he could get through, leaving the three of them alone in there.

Juudai smiled. It was the kind of smile Yubel could be, and was, very proud of. A smile that said no one tried to harm Yubel and get away with it.

"You tried to break my bond to Yubel," the Herald of the Gentle Darkness spoke, his voice low and dark and rough. "I have done things I am not proud of, and if you had the courage to approach me for _that_ , then I would have faced you and we could have settled this in a reasonable fashion. But you thought you could take Yubel from me. You thought you could destroy me without a fair fight." The smile held shadows of anger and rage and Yubel could not have been prouder.

Darkness fell from the walls and moved toward Desire, a living force that no one could avoid or fend off. Juudai stepped forward with the writhing shadows, golden eyes brilliant and glowing.

"You do not deserve a duel. I would have given one to you, if you'd approached me in honesty. This is what you deserve."

Again the shadows rose up and this time they struck at Desire and he screamed and screamed, the shadows writhing around him, growing tighter and tighter with every moment.

"You thought you could take me away from Juudai," Yubel contributed to the judgment. "You know nothing of me and nothing of what I would want, nothing of the glory of Juudai's love and what we have suffered to be together. You claim to love me and you do not know me. You will never know me, because you do not care to know me. You love only the image in your mind, and that image will never be me, and I will never love you either."

Again a step forward. "Even if somehow Juudai were gone forever, never reborn, I would never love you or anyone else."

"No matter what anyone else says, I will always love only you," Juudai said, arms sliding around Yubel and his head leaning against one muscular shoulder. "I said it once and I meant it. I will always mean it."

Desire's screams echoed, not just in this room, but everywhere in his fortress. Anyone who hadn't left yet found the nearest exit, swearing one and all to never go anywhere near the Herald or his friends for as long as they lived.

Those of Juudai's friends who heard looked at one another. They knew who he was, what he was, and the kind of power that he had. But to hear him use it: that was something they weren't used to. There were those who thought they couldn't ever get used to it, and would do all within their power to avoid thinking about it as much as possible. Juudai was their friend. But there would always be that part of him that was _this_ : the implacable and non-human wielder of the dark powers of justice.

Even those who had watched weren't paying attention to them, so no one quite knew how long it was before Juudai and Yubel stepped out of the fortress. Neither of them so much as had a hair out of place, and Yubel still supported Juudai with one arm around his shoulders. As soon as they were far enough away, the fortress shuddered and collapsed, leaving behind nothing more than a large pile of dust and debris.

"What happened?" Rei wanted to know, biting her lip. Martin had one hand wrapped around hers and made a point of not looking at Yubel.

"What needed to," Juudai said, his voice calm and unruffled. He took the decks Johan held out to them, tucking his own away and returning Yubel's. "It's over now, though. He won't bother anyone ever again."

"Nor will anyone who worked for him. The ones who got out, and the ones who didn't." Yubel knew that some of them had escaped. So long as those who had didn't try to bother any of them, both Yubel and Juudai were fine with that.

An awkward silence fell with that. Then Misawa cleared his throat. "Our exit point is about a day or so away from here. We should probably try to get back as soon as possible. Will you come with us, Juudai?"

Juudai considered, leaning against Yubel. "For a while, I think. But we have somewhere to be once you're all back home." He looked from one of them to the other. "Thanks, all of you. If you hadn't come…" Yubel didn't shudder, but Juudai did, and Yubel held him closer.

Neither of them wanted to admit what Juudai hadn't said: that without their help, Juudai and Yubel would not have been able to escape. Lucifer's spell kept Juudai too deeply asleep to do anything to stop the severing of the bond, already rebuilding itself. But Yubel knew what Juudai wanted to do afterward: take them to Neo-Space, where his power was at its peak, and they could rest together until everything was back to the way that it should be.

The group moved on, people arranging themselves so that they protected Juudai and Yubel in the center. Yubel didn't know entirely how to feel about that, but decided to remain content that people at least understood how important Juudai was and that he should be protected. They couldn't do it the way that Yubel could, but at least they tried.

Yubel and Juudai remained close together even as they walked, not wanting to separate by so much as a hair's breadth. Their separation had come far too close to being permanent, and Yubel far too clearly remembered what it was like not to be with Juudai. It wasn't an experience one wished to repeat.

And for so long as they both existed, in whatever form and whatever future lives, they did not.

 **The End**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


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